Waqf-e-Arzi, i.e. temporary devotion, was started by the third Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hazrat Mirza Nasir Ahmad (May Allah have mercy on him) with the purpose of teaching the Holy Quran to the local members of the Jama’at. Even today, there are Ahmadis in remote areas of the world who are unaware of the basic teachings of Islam.
Some very dedicated souls have accepted the truthful message of Islam but do not have the essential resources to learn the Holy Quran. As students of Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada, we thought it was our duty to provide these resources and to go to a third world country to serve the Jama’at. Considering this, seven students of the Thaniyah Class of Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada had the blessed opportunity to go to the country of Belize to perform Waqf-e-Arzi.
As we were going to Belize, we had no idea what to expect as it was a third-world country, widely known for gun violence and drugs. However, we went there with the intention of serving the Jama’at and providing resources for the new converts in this country to be educated about the beautiful religion of Islam. By the grace of Allah, we had the opportunity to teach the Holy Quran, engage in Tabligh with the locals, design informative posters, and make MTA videos.
Firstly, we had the opportunity to teach the Holy Quran to various members of the Jama’at. There is an Ahmadi named Rony who lives in the Belize mosque, who came from the village of Bladen and has the desire to become a Mubaligh. Rony is an asset for the Jama’at in Belize as he knows four different languages and belongs to the Mayan people, an ancient civilization that populated Belize over 3200 years ago. Insha’Allah, the Jama’at will have a Mubaligh that would be able to do Tabligh to the Mayan people. We had the blessed opportunity to teach Rony how to read the Quran, the history of Islam, and other essential subjects relating to Islam. As long as we were there, we were also able to teach many new converts how to perform Wudu (ablution), the importance of supplication, and more.
Then, we had the opportunity to do Tabligh in the city of Belize. We distributed flyers and had very informative conversations with the local Belizians. We noticed that in Canada it is much harder to get a discussion started when doing Tabligh; however, in Belize, people were willing to listen and learn about Islam.
Thirdly, we made informative posters for the mosque in Belize. These posters had information on how to perform Wudu (ablution), the six articles of faith, the five pillars of Islam and other basic information about Islam. Considering the Jama’at in Belize is mainly based on new converts, these posters will serve to guide them in learning more about the religion of Islam when they come for prayers.
Also, I had the blessed opportunity to make MTA reports on the efforts of Jama’at Ahmadiyya Belize. By the grace of Allah, the Jama’at in Belize is very active and takes many initiatives to serve humanity, however, people around the world don’t know about these efforts. So in this regard, I made a few MTA News reports to promote the humble efforts of the Jama’at in Belize. Since they do not have an MTA team in Belize, I also had the blessed opportunity to teach videography and video editing to some of the local members of the Jama’at.
Lastly, Allah the Almighty says in the Holy Quran to travel in the Earth (29:21), so in this regard, we also had the blessed opportunity to explore the beautiful country of Belize. We went to Altun Ha, where we were given a brief tour of the history of the Mayan people. We rented a small boat to go to the various islands near Belize City. We also had the blessed opportunity to go to Bladen, a very remote village in Belize. Some other activities included cave tubing, ziplining, and sacrificing goats.
All the students of Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada who were present had an amazing time and had the blessed opportunity to serve selflessly for these 15 days. May Allah the Almighty enable all students of Jamia Ahmadiyya Canada to serve to the best of their abilities. Ameen.
